Rivalry
by roguehobbit
Summary: One-shot. Sokka defends himself from Katara’s questions about his first kiss by drawing attention to her love life, or lack there of. Aang comes up with a solution.


Rivalry

**One-shot**. Sokka defends himself from Katara's questions about his first kiss by drawing attention to her love life, or lack there of. Aang comes up with a solution.

Disclaimer: I'm still surprised that Nickelodeon owns this show, and as of yet have not claimed it as my own..

Thanks to **Auramistealia**, for beta reading (lol, and for the commentary that went along with it).

x

x

x

"Hey, Sokka," Katara began, as she leaned over her brother, as he was attempting to start a fire.

"What?" he replied gruffly, concentrating on the two pieces of flint he was striking together. Why didn't they spark? Stupid rocks...

"Just out of curiosity...who else have you kissed besides Gran Gran?"

One rock soared out of Sokka's hand, as he lost hold of it in mid-strike. "W-what?"

Katara grinned, watching Sokka's face heat up. She had been musing on the places they had been and the people they had met every since joining Aang on his quest, when she remembered her earlier question. They had been interrupted then, and now Katara was determined to find out the answer.

"You heard me," she said sweetly.

"Why are you bringing this up _now_?" asked Sokka, trying to avoid answering.

Katara shrugged. "Just wondering."

"It's none of your business," he muttered, reaching for the runaway flint, avoiding her gaze. He thought of Suki. She had kissed him, not the other way around, but he wasn't going to share that fact.

Katata snatched the rock up just before he could grasp it. "It is so."

"...How?" he asked, crossing his arms, while glaring at her.

"You're my brother. It's my responsibility to know if there's another woman in your life."

Sokka snorted. "You're fourteen. I don't think you qualify as a 'woman'."

Katara waved this aside, as the trivial fact it was. "Come on, tell me who she is."

"You don't know her."

"Hmm, I wonder why that is? Is it because," Here, Katara brought her hands to her face, and gasped in mock wonderment, "she doesn't exist?"

Sokka glared harder. "She exists! You don't know everyone in the world Katara."

"Yeah, but I do know everyone that _you_ know," she pointed out.

"Fine," Sokka relented slightly, "you've _seen_ her."

"Hmm...so I guess that rules out an imaginary girlfriend."

"Sokka has an imaginary friend?" Aang had happened to walk into the conversion at that moment, but hadn't heard correctly. He dropped the berries he had gathered onto the mat by the still unlit wood.

"No! And she's not my girlfriend!"

Aang's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Girlfriend?"

"Gah!" yelled Sokka, raising his arms up in the air in defeat. Then he started walking back to Appa, "I'm going to sleep, and I suggest you two do too."

"Not until you tell me," Katara sing-songed, skipping after Sokka. She was never in such a good mood as when she was tormenting her older brother.

Aang followed, still confused. "Tell you what? Something about his imaginary friend? Or his girlfriend?"

Sokka started preparing for bed, shaking out his sleeping bag. There was no way he was going to tell her about Suki. If Katara found out that she was one of the warrior girls that had so easily captured them (especially him) back at Kyoshi, he'd never here the end of it.

But Katara had ways to get information out of him, and if he wasn't careful she might wring the truth out of him. The only way to counter the attack of questions that were sure to come was to go on the defensive.

"Come on Sokka, tell me," she wheedled, getting up in his face and pouting.

Quick, have to think of something to get her off track! Sokka thought furiously, and was then struck by an idea.

"Just because you've never kissed anybody, doesn't give you the right to badger me about my love life."

Katara stared. "Wh-, you-, wh-" she sputtered.

Sokka crossed his arms smugly. Yep, that got her. "I know you've always been competitive, but, geez, Katata, you don't have to be jealous because I beat you."

Aang had been watching the two siblings, growing more and more baffled. "Beat her? What are you talking about Sokka?"

Ignoring the twelve-year-old, Sokka continued, grinning evilly. "I mean, come on Katara, that's pretty pathetic."

Katara's eyes narrowed and her hands balled into fists. Aang looked nervously at the stream they had camped by, seeing the first hint of steam rising from it.

"Uh, Sokka..."

But Sokka didn't pay attention, he began laying his sleeping bag on the ground. "You'll just have to except that I'm more mature then you, and-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, as a wave of rather hot water came pouring down on him.

"YeoOOW!" Sokka screeched, jumping up and down, trying to shake as much water off of him as possible. "Hot, hot, hot!"

Katara wasn't finished though. Another wave was forming, but Aang quickly countered it with a rush of wind, and grabbed hold of the young Waterbender's arm. "Katara, do you really want to broil Sokka?"

In answer, Katara began moving her arms in a waterbending motion, but Aang started dragging her away from her target. He muttered. "Let's get you calmed down."

Before leaving, Aang sent a cold wind at Sokka, cooling the water and his flushed skin. The drenched teenager watched them leave, and Appa and Momo, who had been silent up till then, both made chiding noises. Momo's sounded more like scolding, while Appa's deep "Umpfh" sounded more reproachful.

"What?" demanded Sokka testily.

x x x

"Arrg!" shouted Katara, unintelligibly voicing her anger.

The two children were now sitting on a small hill, which looked out over the ocean. The sun had just gone down, but the beautiful sight had not quenched the offended girl's irritation.

"Katara?" ventured Aang.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"What were Sokka and you fighting about?"

Katara's blank stare caused Aang to quickly say "Never mind."

They sat, staring out at the ocean. After a few minutes Katara spoke. "I was just kidding around, asking him who he had kissed."

"Uh..." said Aang, still not getting it. Then he thought back on what he had heard of the argument. "Oooh..."

A few more minutes passed in silence, until Aang said, smiling "If it makes you feel any better, I've never kissed anyone either."

Katara turned to look at him and smiled. "Thanks Aang, but you're only twelve."

"A _hundred_ and twelve."

Katara laughed. "Okay, have it your way."

More silence. Katara's mind drifted. She thought of Jet.

She had really liked him. He was the first person she had really thought about having a relationship with. And he had turned out to be...Katara searched for a word bad enough to describe him.

Sadly, the only names she came up with were 'jerk' and 'cretin', and she used those on her brother, and Jet deserved worse.

Perhaps if all the men of her village hadn't of gone off to fight the Fire Nation she might know some more...descriptive words.

As Katara sat thinking about the lamentable state of her vocabulary when it came to obscenities, Aang got an idea.

He glanced at Katara out of the corner of his eye. She was lost in thought, eyes staring vacantly at the ocean lit by the bright moon and stars.

Aang leaned towards her, and paused. She didn't notice him. Aang took a deep breath and leaned closer. He kissed her on her cheek.

Katara jumped in surprise, and looked at Aang in shock. The boy was blushing fiercely, but got out "Now you're even with Sokka."

Katara continued staring at him and Aang shifted uncomfortably, and then looked away.

So he was startled when he felt Katara take hold of his hand and squeeze it.

"Thanks Aang."

Aang smiled and the two continued to sit, holding hands and watching the light play off the surface of the ocean.

x

x

x

End.

I'm not really an Aang/Katara fan, but that's how this idea played out. This wasn't even supposed to evolve into a story, I just wanted to practice some Katara and Sokka banter...but then it kept going, lol.

Please review. :)


End file.
